So your home’s not social-media perfect? How to get over ‘house shame’ and invite people in 15 Apr 2025, 6:59 pm

By LEANNE ITALIE

NEW YORK (AP) — Robbie Randolph is a real estate agent and interior designer for the rich, yet even he’s not immune from the anxiety of “house shame.”

That’s the judged, bullied, defeated feeling you can get when Pinterest-perfect syndrome takes over, either in our own minds thanks to social media or fed by the side eye of a friend with impeccable digs.

House shame can make you reluctant to invite people over, and in some cases lead to isolation and despair.

“House shaming is actually how designers kind of get business,” Randolph said. “A client will go over to another home that’s professionally designed and they’ll be like, ‘Oh my gosh, my house isn’t that nice.’ They then seek out an interior designer.”

Randolph, in Greenville, South Carolina, said interior designers themselves are just as vulnerable. So are exhausted parents with young children, people who just don’t love to clean, those who can’t afford home updates, or folks who really have a lot of books and/or love collectibles.

“I’ll do an Instagram post of an amazing, immaculately decorated house and I go, ‘Wow, my house stinks,’” said Randolph. “And everyone walks into my home and tells me how amazing it is. At the end of the day, I’m still human and I still get trapped by the devil of comparison.”

Remembering one’s humanity in a world where true perfection is elusive goes a long way, he and other experts noted.

The scary side of house shame

Not wanting to entertain at home can simply mean spending time together elsewhere, in restaurants, at the theater or in the homes of others, for instance. But it can also bring on hoarding or other traumatizing behaviors like losing the will to clean.

“I have a friend who refuses to have people over because she’s so ashamed of her house,” Randolph said.

His friend didn’t have the money or the will to fix up the house after her abusive husband moved out.

“I think house shaming is about comparison, but it can also be about a person’s own struggles,” he said.

Speaking of Martha Stewart …

Barbara Fight was a TV producer for Martha Stewart for 12 years before going into home organizing in New York. She said house shame got way worse with the rise of social media and its idealized depictions of homes most people can’t afford or otherwise will never have.

But there are lots of easy, inexpensive ways people can help themselves feel better about their living spaces if they so choose.

The issue is often just too much stuff. She sees a lot of homes with row upon overlapping row of framed photos in ancient (not in a good way) frames. She suggests paring them down to the bare minimum and stashing the rest in a decorative box that can be pulled out for perusal.

Like Randolph, Fight has seen it all: People overloaded with things they’ve inherited from dead relatives. A young woman who wouldn’t bring her fiancé to her parents’ house, “because it’s such a mess.”

Fight suggests: “Take away a third of what’s out.” One client, she said, “had this long, narrow, beautiful table in her living room just filled with stuff. It was the first thing you saw when you walked in. I said to her, ‘It’s going to take me 15 minutes to make this look Instagram-worthy.’ About five pieces stayed on there. About 10 things were thrown out, and we found a different place for the rest.”

Does changing your home feel overwhelming?

Jamila Musayeva is the author of “The Art of Entertaining at Home” and hosts a lifestyle YouTube channel with over 1 million subscribers. She’s also an etiquette coach.

“A home doesn’t have to be perfect to be welcoming,” she said. “It simply has to feel cared for. If you’re worried about how your space might be perceived, start by focusing on what you can control.”

That could mean freshening up an entrance with a lit candle and a small flower arrangement to shift the mood for guests.

“Think ahead about the rooms your guests will actually see. Give those areas some attention rather than overwhelming yourself with the whole house. A clean bathroom with a fresh hand towel, good lighting in the living room and somewhere cozy to sit go much further than expensive décor,” Musayeva said.

Where the memories are made

Wendy Trunz, co-owner of the Long Island home organizing company Jane’s Addiction Organization, said she grew up in the smallest house in her family’s circle of friends and family. Now, with a husband and two kids, she lives in the smallest house among her neighbors and loved ones.

“My mom’s door was always open. Their table always had an extra seat. You just knocked and came in, and my mom just believed the more the merrier, this is where the memories are made and don’t mind the mess. And there’s something great about that,” she said.

Trunz notes that along with social media, the COVID pandemic contributed to house shame by sending millions of people home.

“Even now, five years later, we’re going in and people are still not eating at their dining room tables and not having people over,” she said. “Their husband is still sitting there working and it’s covered with stuff. We come in and clear that table and they call us in tears because for the first time they ate as a family around their dining room table again and not at the counter. It’s amazing. It’s amazing.”

Trunz had a easy solution for a client who had a stuffed front hall closet and felt she couldn’t accommodate the coats of guests.

“We just bought them a rolling rack, as if it’s a fancy thing. Nobody’s going to open the closet,” she said.

And if someone does house-shame you, there’s another easy solution, she said. One of her best friends is a teacher who invited teacher friends over for a meal and made her favorite tuna fish, choosing to focus on the magic of gathering rather than the toil of preparation.

“And one person in the group kept pointing out the fact that she only had one bathroom, and how did she live like that. I asked my friend, ‘What are you going to do about that?’ And she said, ‘You just decide not to have that person over.’ It can be that simple.”

Grant Magdanz, who uses Instagram to chronicle Los Angeles life living with his grandmother, has racked up about half a million likes for a video he posted last September showing off their decades-old furniture, mismatched cups and cluttered dining table.

“Not everyone’s life is themed, curated and made for social media,” a scroll on the video said. “In fact, most people’s aren’t. And we’re happy all the same.”

Bourbon-plumped currants enhance the flavor of hot cross buns for Easter 15 Apr 2025, 6:52 pm

By CHRISTOPHER KIMBALL

Hot cross buns are an Easter specialty with a light, enriched crumb that’s studded with currants and flavored with a gentle mix of warm spices and a hint of citrus. While some versions are drizzled with icing, we prefer a traditional semi-sweet, flour-based “cross” etched across the top.

This recipe from our book “ Milk Street Bakes ” mostly sticks to tradition but amps up the flavor. We enrich the dough with tangy buttermilk instead of regular milk, along with orange zest and a little Lyle’s Golden Syrup for its bittersweet caramel notes. Lyle’s Golden Syrup is an amber-hued sweetener common to the U.K.; mild clover honey works equally well if you can’t find the iconic green can of syrup.

We plump the currants in bourbon, which enhances the flavors in the spice mix, then use the currant-flavored bourbon to make a shiny glaze.

The work is spread over a couple days so the buns can be baked and served for breakfast or brunch. If you wish to bake the buns the same day, after shaping them, let them rise at room temperature until just shy of doubled, about an hour. Halfway into rising, heat the oven and prepare the egg wash and piping mixture. Once doubled, brush the buns with egg wash and pipe on the crosses, then bake and glaze as directed. Store extra buns in an airtight container up to three days; rewarm wrapped in foil in a 300°F oven for 10 to 15 minutes.

Don’t heat the buttermilk to bring it to room temperature. Buttermilk curdles easily; it’s best to let it stand at room temperature. And don’t forget to pat the currants dry after draining their soaking liquid. Additional moisture can make the rather sticky dough difficult to handle when shaping.

Hot Cross Buns

Start to finish: 13 hours (1¼ hours active), plus cooling

Makes 12 buns

Ingredients:

For the dough:

93 grams (⅔ cup) dried currants

⅓ cup bourbon

1 cup buttermilk, room temperature

1 large egg, plus 1 large egg yolk

3 tablespoons Lyle’s Golden Syrup (see headnote) or honey

1 tablespoon grated orange zest

411 grams (3 cups) bread flour, plus more for dusting

2¼ teaspoons instant yeast

¾ teaspoon table salt

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground allspice

¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

57 grams (4 tablespoons) salted butter, cut into 4 pieces, room temperature

For the egg wash and piping mixture:

1 large egg

34 grams (¼ cup) bread flour

For the glaze:

Bourbon, as needed

2 tablespoons Lyle’s Golden Syrup or honey

Instructions:

To make the dough, in a small microwave-safe bowl, stir the currants and bourbon. Microwave, uncovered, on high until warm, about 30 seconds, stirring once. Stir again, then set aside until plump, about 15 minutes. Drain in a fine-mesh strainer set over a small bowl; reserve the liquid. Turn the currants onto a paper towel-lined plate and pat dry; set aside.

In a 2-cup liquid measuring cup or small bowl, whisk the buttermilk, whole egg, egg yolk, golden syrup and orange zest. In a stand mixer with the dough hook, mix the flour, yeast, salt, cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg on low until combined, about 20 seconds. With the mixer running, add the buttermilk mixture; mix until a shaggy dough forms, about 45 seconds. Increase to medium-low and knead until sticky and elastic, 8 to 10 minutes; if the dough climbs up the hook, occasionally push it off.

With the mixer running on medium-low, add the butter 1 piece at a time, mixing until almost fully incorporated, about 30 seconds; scrape the bowl as needed. Knead on medium-low until shiny and once again elastic, 3 to 5 minutes. Scrape the dough off the hook. With the mixer running on medium-low, add the currants in 2 batches. Knead until distributed throughout the dough, 1 to 2 minutes. Detach the bowl from the mixer and use a silicone spatula to scrape the bowl and gather the dough at the center. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until doubled, 1 to 1½ hours.

Meanwhile, mist a 9-by-13-inch baking pan or baking dish with cooking spray. Line the pan with a 12-by-16-inch piece of parchment positioned so the excess overhangs the pan’s long sides. Mist the parchment with cooking spray; set aside.

When the dough has doubled, lightly flour the counter and turn the dough out onto it. Divide into 12 portions, each about 77 grams (2½ ounces). Form each into a taut ball by rolling it against the counter in a circular motion under a cupped hand. Place seam-side down in the prepared pan, arranging them in 3 rows of 4. Mist a sheet of plastic wrap with cooking spray and drape over the pan, then cover loosely with a kitchen towel. Refrigerate for at least 8 hours or up to 24 hours.

About 2 hours before you are ready to bake, remove the buns from the refrigerator. Let stand at room temperature, covered, until almost doubled, 1½ to 2 hours.

About 1 hour into rising, in a small bowl, beat the egg for the wash until well combined; set aside. In another small bowl, combine the flour and 2½ tablespoons water; whisk until smooth. The mixture should form a thick paste that falls slowly from the whisk and mounds on itself in the bowl; if too thick, whisk in more water a few drops at a time. Transfer to a quart-size, zip-close bag. Press out the air and push the mixture to one corner; twist the bag to keep the batter contained in the corner; set aside. Heat the oven to 350°F with a rack in the middle position.

When the buns have doubled, brush them with egg wash (you will not need to use all of the egg). With the piping mixture still pushed to the corner of the bag, use scissors to snip off ⅛ to ¼ inch from the tip of the bag. Pipe a continuous line across the center of each row of buns, then pipe a continuous line down the center of each column of buns, creating a cross on the center of each bun. Bake until the buns are deep golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the glaze. Measure the bourbon reserved from soaking the currants, then supplement with additional bourbon to total 3 tablespoons. In a small saucepan, combine the bourbon and syrup. Simmer over medium, stirring, until lightly syrupy and reduced to about 3 tablespoons, about 2 minutes; set aside off heat.

When the buns are done, set the pan on a wire rack and immediately brush with the glaze. Cool for 10 minutes. Using the parchment sling, lift the buns from the pan and set directly on the rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

A fifth of Americans are on Medicaid. Some of them have no idea 15 Apr 2025, 6:30 pm

By Anna Claire Vollers, Stateline.org

Some Americans who rely on Medicaid to pay for their health care don’t realize their insurance is funded by that very program, which congressional Republicans are looking to shrink.

One reason is that state programs aren’t always called “Medicaid.” Many states have rebranded their programs with consumer-friendly names such as SoonerCare in Oklahoma, Apple Health in Washington, Medi-Cal in California or TennCare in Tennessee.

And nearly all states now use private insurance companies such as UnitedHealth or Blue Cross Blue Shield to run their Medicaid programs. That means Medicaid enrollees may hold an insurance card and paperwork with the name of a commercial insurance company.

“We toss around terms like ‘Medicaid,’ but we see so many of our patients not having [insurance cards or] anything that describes or uses the word ‘Medicaid,’” said Dr. Adam Brown, a Washington, D.C.-based emergency physician and founder of a health care strategy firm.

“People oftentimes do not realize either that they have it, or know the value of what it does.”

Medicaid is the health insurance program for people with low incomes or certain disabilities. About 72 million people, or about a fifth of all the people living in the United States, are enrolled. It operates with state and federal funding, but every state has the freedom to choose how to run its program, within federal rules.

As a result, Medicaid is a sprawling patchwork of programs that can confuse lawmakers and even top health officials, not to mention the average beneficiary. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., now secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, incorrectly described basic elements of Medicaid and seemed to confuse it with Medicare during his January confirmation hearing before Congress.

Republicans in Congress are considering proposals to slash hundreds of billions of dollars from federal Medicaid funding as they look to offset trillions in tax cuts proposed by President Donald Trump. The specifics of the Medicaid cuts are still being hammered out. But any reductions to federal Medicaid spending would shift those costs to states, which would likely be forced to end services or cut coverage for certain groups of people.

“Part of the problem is when we hear people talk on television or hear lawmakers talk, there are many people that don’t make the connection that they themselves are on [Medicaid] or that their hospital is very much dependent upon the dollars that come from Medicaid,” said Brown.

“Calling it one thing and branding it something very different, that makes it challenging for people to understand the connection or the value in the product that they actually have.”

About 3 in 4 people who have Medicaid are enrolled in managed care organizations (MCOs), according to the latest national data. Most of these are private plans operated by companies such as UnitedHealth Group and Centene. But the branding from these companies can distance recipients from the fact that their care is paid for with public funds.

When Brown worked in emergency medicine, he had many patients who had insurance through Medicaid.

“There were times they would show me their card and it would have commercial branding, like a Blue Cross Blue Shield,” he said. But as they talked, “I noticed there was a lack of understanding that they were on a Medicaid-supported or state/federal-supported program.”

Millions of people who are enrolled in Medicaid mistakenly believe they’re uninsured, Dr. Ben Sommers, a Harvard health economist and physician, told Stateline.

“It is a long-standing issue that got worse during the pandemic,” he said.

He and fellow researchers found that the gap between the number of people who have Medicaid and the number who think they have it jumped during the pandemic, to about 18.5 million people. This was due to a lack of public understanding about a COVID-era rule that granted continuous Medicaid coverage to people without requiring them to re-enroll, researchers found.

Sommers expects the gap will eventually return to pre-pandemic levels, or nearly 6 million people.

“That’s still a lot of people who don’t think they’re in Medicaid but who are,” he said.

There are also some uninsured people who enroll in Medicaid when they show up at an emergency room or clinic needing care. Most providers will check for Medicaid eligibility if a person doesn’t have another form of insurance. People who become Medicaid beneficiaries that way may not realize it’s Medicaid paying for their care, Sommers said.

Public debate

Physicians, public health experts and advocates worry that the confusion over Medicaid is affecting public debate over funding cuts.

From a public health perspective, Sommers said, “It’s not a huge problem if people think they have one type of insurance and misclassify it, as long as they’re getting care.

“Politically, it can be tricky if people don’t recognize they have Medicaid and they’re trying to weigh in on policies that affect Medicaid.”

Conservatives have long argued for reducing the reach of Medicaid. They say the program is too expensive and that its expansion under the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, diverts too much money toward able-bodied adults and away from the more vulnerable populations it was originally intended to help.

But despite the controversy surrounding Medicaid, the program is extremely popular. More than 3 in 4 people view Medicaid favorably, including nearly two-thirds of Republicans, according to a January tracking poll from KFF.

In focus groups conducted in January by KFF, no Trump voters and few Harris voters said they were aware of proposals to cut federal Medicaid dollars, and some Trump voters said they didn’t think Trump would follow through on the cuts.

Making the connection

Brown said that despite confusion, most Medicaid patients he encountered were aware their insurance came through a government program.

But he said it can still be hard for people — including those with private insurance — to make the connection between Medicaid funding cuts and their local hospitals or other services.

“We oftentimes frame this [debate over Medicaid funding cuts] as ‘People will lose their health insurance,’ and that is true,” Brown said. But “the constituencies affected are not just the people who have Medicaid.”

Less funding for Medicaid, or an increase in the number of people without insurance, would harm people with any kind of insurance, he said. It could lead to longer wait times at hospitals, fewer services offered and, in some cases, hospital closures.

“One of the important parts about democracy is people being educated about what their representatives are voting for or against, and also how to advocate for yourself,” Brown said. “If you don’t fundamentally understand or fully grasp the benefits you have, then it’s harder to advocate.”

Stateline reporter Anna Claire Vollers can be reached at avollers@stateline.org.

©2025 States Newsroom. Visit at stateline.org. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Why ‘intuitive budgeting’ might be your new favorite budgeting tool 15 Apr 2025, 6:25 pm

By Kimberly Palmer, NerdWallet

Intuitive budgeting involves approximating your expenses instead of counting every penny. For some people, this kind of relaxed approach is more appealing than traditional budgeting.

“It’s more of a dance with your numbers,” says Bari Tessler, author of “The Art of Money” and a financial therapist in Boulder, Colorado.

In fact, Tessler shies away from even using the word “budget,” which can feel “so rigid and diet-like, as if there’s a right and wrong way.”

Tessler prefers “money map.” That phrase, she says, evokes the idea that “this is something we get to craft on our own, based on what phase of life we’re in, who we’re caring for and what our numbers look like.”

She’s part of a growing group of money professionals who are embracing the popularity of this more intuitive approach.

“Regimented budgeting strategies aren’t for everyone,” says Said Israilov, a certified financial planner in San Francisco and co-founder of Israilov Financial.

An intuitive approach means “spending your money on what feels right while staying mindful about your needs and wants. It doesn’t prescribe any spending guidelines and instead lets people make decisions by relying on their inner voice,” he adds.

It’s you relying on your sense for sound spending, trusting yourself and (hopefully) stressing less. If you’d like to give intuitive budgeting a try, here are some guidelines to keep in mind:

Capture an approximate cash flow

Before moving to intuitive budgeting, Tessler suggests getting familiar with your basic expenses each month.

“The key to intuitive budgeting is to have a baseline — a sense of what your expenses are,” she says.

Tracking your expenses for a few months can help you decide if you are comfortable with your level of spending or want to dial it back in certain categories.

Intuitive budgeting is not “magical thinking” where you simply don’t pay attention and hope for the best, Tessler says.

Instead, it’s being fluid and understanding about your numbers.

“It’s not critiquing ourselves but learning from it and being compassionate as we’re figuring this out,” she says.

You may have to gather some information up front and jot down your recurring income and expenses to get a good baseline feel.

Listen to your gut

Intuitive budgeting “relies on a gut feeling,” Israilov says.

If you’re deciding whether or not to splurge on a big television, for example, Israilov suggests reflecting on whether or not it feels right instead of crunching numbers. For much of his client base — which he describes as millennial immigrants working in the tech sector — this intuitive approach makes sense, perhaps partly because they tend to be frugal.

This way isn’t for everybody, though.

“If you tend to overspend, it might not work for you,” he says.

And even if the intuitive approach does work for you, it still requires guardrails.

“At the end of each month, make it a habit to audit your bank statements and review major spending categories,” Israilov says.

That way, you can make adjustments as needed.

Find the right method

The key to finding a money management approach that works for you is to make sure you use one that fits your life, says Dana Miranda, author of “You Don’t Need a Budget.”

Personal finance advice is not “one-size-fits-all,” she says, and pretending the same money maxims apply to everyone can be damaging.

That’s why she encourages people to explore their own financial goals and spending patterns with an emphasis on figuring out what works best for them, versus following along with whatever a money expert or influencer advises.

That might mean using intuitive budgeting or some variation of it. If the approach you select doesn’t evoke a sense of stress or shame, it has a better chance of being sustainable, Miranda says.

It also has to work, meaning your gut instinct needs to keep you from spending more than you make.

If needed, bring in more structure

If the free-flow of intuitive budgeting feels chaotic, Tessler suggests turning to more traditional tools like envelope-based budgeting.

A budgeting app can work well for people who need structure, she adds.

Some life events — like buying a home, having a baby or retiring — may require more guardrails, Tessler says. Then, when the phase passes, you can return to a more intuitive approach.

“There are certain phases of life where we have to be more vigilant,” she says.

And there are others, such as during periods of stable income and expenses, where you can go with the flow.

Kimberly Palmer writes for NerdWallet. Email: kpalmer@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @kimberlypalmer.

The article Why ‘Intuitive Budgeting’ Might Be Your New Favorite Budgeting Tool originally appeared on NerdWallet.

As Trump considers auto tariffs pause, parts exemptions could be key for US industry 15 Apr 2025, 5:28 pm

By ALEXA ST. JOHN

DETROIT (AP) — President Donald Trump hinted that he might temporarily relieve the auto industry from “permanent” tariffs he previously imposed on the business. The president didn’t specify how long the potential pause would be or what it would entail, but the auto sector is awaiting how rules might change on 25% tariffs based on U.S. parts, if duties remain on assembled vehicles.

Experts have said short pauses aren’t likely to give carmakers enough of an opportunity to adjust their vast global supply chains, though parts exemptions would certainly bolster the industry amid Trump’s trade war whiplash.

Trump told reporters Monday that automakers “need a little bit of time because they’re going to make them here, but they need a little bit of time. So I’m talking about things like that,” referring to relocating production from Canada, Mexico and elsewhere. The news drove global auto stocks up Tuesday.

Matt Blunt, president of the American Automotive Policy Council, which represents domestic auto companies Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, said in a statement: “There is increasing awareness that broad tariffs on parts could undermine our shared goal of building a thriving and growing American auto industry, and that many of these supply chain transitions will take time.”

Trump first announced 25% automotive tariffs late March; the tariffs for completed vehicles took effect on April 3, while the parts tariffs were set to start 30 days later.

“The one-month delay is intended to give the U.S. government time to work out rules to exempt the value of automotive parts that contains U.S.-made materials, which will not be subject to the tariffs,” according to insights from law firm Foley & Lardner, noting a “carveout” for parts certified under regional trade pact, the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. The Department of Commerce is expected to determine “a system to calculate non-U.S. content” by May 3.

At the same time, automakers are navigating steel and aluminum imports levies of at least 25%; 25% duties on all goods from Canada and Mexico; 10% global tariffs and reciprocal tariffs around the world — paused for 90 days, and both of which automotive is exempt from; and tariffs on China at 145%.

The United Auto Workers labor union, and Autos Drive America, which represents foreign automakers, did not respond to requests for comment.

The on-again, off-again tariffs have already wrought havoc for any number of global sectors but especially the auto industry, which relies on a complex network of parts from around the world.

Despite his close proximity to Trump through the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has strayed from the president’s views on tariffs.

“Important to note that Tesla is NOT unscathed here,” Musk himself posted on his social media platform X. “The tariff impact on Tesla is still significant.”

Tesla’s sold in the U.S. have a great deal of parts supplied and vehicles assembled here, and the company claims it has the “most American-made cars.” Varying trims of the Tesla Model Y and 3 are at least 85% domestic content, according to an annual Made in America auto index.

For comparison, Ford builds about 80% of the vehicles it sells in the U.S. domestically.

The American and European car industries are “severely affected by tariffs. On top of the 25% tariff imposed on vehicles, we are impacted by layer upon layer of additional compounding tariffs including those on aluminum, steel, and parts,” Stellantis Chairman John Elkann said in the company’s annual general meeting Tuesday, noting at the same time, the Chinese auto market’s potential for growth this year.

“But it’s not too late if the U.S. and Europe take the necessary urgent actions to promote an orderly transition,” Elkann added. “We are encouraged by what President Trump indicated yesterday on tariffs for the car industry.”

Though Trump says his tariffs are intended to bolster U.S. auto manufacturing, automakers aren’t able to reconfigure their sourcing in short periods of time, experts say.

Because of the nature of the business and the length of time it takes to design product and get manufacturing up and running, it could take years to reevaluate sources of supply and establish new assembly operations.

“Flipping upside down a global supply chain that has been in place for decades cannot happen overnight for the auto industry,” Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives said in a research note, “and we strongly believe the clear right move would be to focus on finished cars made in the U.S.” versus auto parts.

The tariffs as they currently stand are sure to cost automakers billions of dollars, impact new and used vehicle supply and raise prices for car buyers at dealerships by thousands of dollars.

Already, some auto manufacturers have paused operations in Canada and Mexico and temporarily laid off workers in the U.S.

Some have also attempted to get ahead of the impact of tariffs through appeals to customers. In rare moves, Ford, Hyundai, Genesis and Jeep-maker Stellantis began offering employee pricing programs for a limited time to reach buyers before what will most likely be steep price hikes.

Car buyers might be better positioned for an extra few weeks, depending on the latest policy change.

Alexa St. John is an Associated Press climate reporter. Follow her on X: @alexa_stjohn. Reach her at ast.john@ap.org.

Harvard’s challenge to Trump administration could test limits of government power 15 Apr 2025, 5:22 pm

By COLLIN BINKLEY

On one side is Harvard, the nation’s oldest and wealthiest university, with a brand so powerful that its name is synonymous with prestige. On the other side is the Trump administration, determined to go farther than any other White House to reshape American higher education.

Both sides are digging in for a clash that could test the limits of the government’s power and the independence that has made U.S. universities a destination for scholars around the world.

On Monday, Harvard become the first university to openly defy the Trump administration as it demands sweeping changes to limit activism on campus. The university frames the government’s demands as a threat not only to the Ivy League school but to the autonomy that the Supreme Court has long granted American universities.

“The university will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights,” the university’s lawyers wrote Monday to the government. “Neither Harvard nor any other private university can allow itself to be taken over by the federal government.”

The federal government says it’s freezing more than $2.2 billion in grants and $60 million in contracts to Harvard. The hold on funding marks the seventh time the Trump administration has taken such a step at one of the nation’s most elite colleges, in an attempt to force compliance with Trump’s political agenda. Six of the seven schools are in the Ivy League.

No university is better positioned to put up a fight than Harvard, whose $53 billion endowment is the largest in the nation. But like other major universities, Harvard also depends on the federal funding that fuels its scientific and medical research. It’s unclear how long Harvard could continue without the frozen money.

Already, Harvard’s refusal appears to be emboldening other institutions.

After initially agreeing to several demands from the Trump administration, Columbia University’s acting president took a more defiant tone in a campus message Monday, saying some of the demands “are not subject to negotiation.”

In her statement, Claire Shipman said she read of Harvard’s rejection with “great interest.”

“Harvard is obviously a particularly powerful institution. And its decision has potential to galvanize other universities into some kind of collective pushback,” said David Pozen, a Columbia law professor who argued that the government’s demands are unlawful.

Ultimately, the conflict could be settled in federal court. A faculty group has already brought a legal challenge against the demands, and many in academia expect Harvard to bring its own lawsuit.

In its refusal letter, Harvard said the government’s demands violate the school’s First Amendment rights and other civil rights laws.

For the Trump administration, Harvard presents the first major hurdle in its attempt to force change at universities that Republicans say have become hotbeds of liberalism and antisemitism.

St. Clair County news briefs: Library to host book sale; more 15 Apr 2025, 4:04 pm

Friends of Algonac-Clay Library to host book sale

The Friends of the Algonac-Clay Library will host a book sale from April 23 to 25.

In addition to gently used hardcover and paperback books, there will be DVDs, CDs, audiobooks and puzzles.

The sale will be open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. April 23 and 24 and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 25.

The Algonac-Clay Library is located at 2011 St. Clair River Drive in Algonac. For more information, call 810-794-4471.

Foundation ends current use of Disaster Response Fund

Community Foundation of St. Clair County has ended the current use of its Disaster Response Fund, which had been activated in response to the major fire in East China Township on Jan. 26.

“In consultation with local officials, residents and partners, we have ended our involvement in the response to the fire last January,” Community Foundation Board Chair Patti Manley said in a news release.

The foundation reported that it received $23,567 in gifts to support the response and spent $24,636 in direct services and support. The foundation donated the costs of its own staff that supported relief efforts from the first day.

“The foundation is fortunate to have the capacity to donate our staff on behalf of the community,” Manley said. “Every dollar we received in response to the fire in East China was spent on supporting the victims of that fire.”

The foundation’s Disaster Response Fund was opened back in 2024 so that the foundation, local communities and first responders were better prepared to provide immediate and unrestricted financial support in the event of just such an event.

Justin Westmiller, director of Homeland Security and Emergency Management for St. Clair County, was involved in the preliminary discussions that led to the foundation establishing its Disaster Response Fund.

“First, we’re so thankful that no lives were lost in this fire,” he said in the release. “The bravery of the first responding officers and personnel was inspiring. And we are so thankful that our Community Foundation took the initiative just last year to create this fund. I really feel we have a model for every other county in Michigan to follow.”

The Community Foundation was motivated to start the fund due to the increasing number of natural and man-made disasters. The process and procedures the foundation put in place were modeled and benchmarked from other communities and other community foundations.

“We hope to never have to dip into this fund again,” Manley said. “But if another disaster strikes our region, we are ready and able to respond.”

For more information about the Disaster Response Fund, visit sccstrong.org.

Public comment sought for aging services budget

AgeWays Nonprofit Senior Services, formerly the Area Agency on Aging 1-B, is holding a virtual public forum to gather input on its fiscal year 2026 implementation plan for about $26.5 million earmarked for senior services.

AgeWays serves a six-county service region, including Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, Oakland, St. Clair and Washtenaw counties, a recent press release states. Funding comes from the state and federal governments.

Older adults, family caregivers, senior advocates, senior care professionals and any other interested members of the public are invited to attend. The forum will be held at noon May 19 via Zoom and can be accessed using this link: https://tinyurl.com/AgeWaysAIP26. Interested parties may also phone in to the meeting at 312-626-6799/Meeting ID: 851 2577 2574.

The draft plan will be available for review at AgeWays.org on May 5. Comments are being accepted by phone, email or post between May 5 and June 4. People can email comments to Stephanie Hall at shall@ageways.org; mail them to her at AgeWays Nonprofit Senior Services, 29100 Northwestern Highway, Suite 400, Southfield, MI 48034, or call her at 248-914-6065.

Ranchers hope Trump’s tariffs boost demand for cattle but some fear market uncertainty 15 Apr 2025, 3:57 pm

By JOSH FUNK, Associated Press Business Writer

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Rancher Brett Kenzy hopes President Donald Trump’s tariffs will make imported beef expensive enough that Americans will turn to cattle raised at home for all their hamburgers and steaks.

That might raise prices enough to give Kenzy and others the incentive they need to expand their herds for the first time in decades. But doing that would take at least two years, and it’s not clear if Trump’s tariffs on most of the world besides China are high enough to make that worth the investment.

“If we can just fix a few key things, I think that we can reinvigorate rural America,” said the South Dakota rancher. “Just get these imports under control, get them to a level that we can understand and plan on, and then let us fill the void. And I think that the American rancher can do that.”

Trump has enjoyed overwhelming support in rural parts of the country in his three campaigns for president. Still, the uncertainty created by the trade war he instigated has given some ranchers pause as they’ve watched cattle prices drop after the tariffs were announced.

“I just don’t like manipulated markets because somebody is going to artificially win and somebody is going to artificially lose,” said Bryant Kagay, who raises and feeds cattle as well as growing crops on his farm in northwest Missouri. “And how do I know it’s not going to be me?”

Ranchers cautiously optimistic

Ranchers hope the tariffs might create an incentive for them to raise more cattle, and the National Cattlemen trade group is salivating at the idea of selling more cuts of meat overseas if the tariffs lead to new trade deals with countries that don’t buy much U.S. beef.

That’s a big if — Trump has said dozens of countries have reached out to negotiate new trade deals, but no agreements have been reached.

About the only thing clear so far is that American ranchers will likely lose one of their biggest markets as a result of the 125% tariffs imposed by China in response to Trump. They sold $1.6 billion worth of beef there last year, and since many ranchers also raise crops, they are reeling about the prospect of losing China as a market for those, too.

Most beef exports to China are already on hold because the certificates from that country that meat plants need weren’t renewed at most beef plants in the United States after they expired in March. So the U.S. Meat Export Federation said few American beef plants are even eligible to ship to China right now.

Kenzy hopes Trump’s tariffs represent a lasting change in U.S. trade policy. So far the tariffs have been changing so much since they were announced that ranchers can’t count on them yet.

“If this is just a short-term negotiating tactic — Tarzan beating his chest — then I would say that that would be an epic failure because that will not result in reshoring industry,” Kenzy said.

The problem, as Kenzy and other members of the Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund United Stockgrowers of America see it, is that the more than 4 billion pounds of beef that’s imported every year — along with cattle brought in from other countries to be slaughtered here — keeps cattle prices lower.

Much of what is imported is lean beef trimmings that meatpackers mix with fattier beef produced here in the United States to produce the varieties of ground beef that domestic consumers want. Even though Trump placed most of his proposed tariffs on hold, the across-the-board 10% tariffs he imposed for 90 days will make imported beef more expensive, so consumers are likely to see the price of hamburger increase.

Even if ranchers decided to raise more cattle to help replace those imports, it would take at least two years to breed and raise them. That means meat processors will likely pay higher prices for that imported beef for at least that long. And the ongoing drought across most of the West will continue to make it difficult to raise more cattle.

Plus, if American ranchers want to produce more of that lean beef they might have to change the way they raise their animals because the entire system in this country is designed to produce fattier meat to get deliciously marbled and tender steaks that help ranchers make the most money. Kansas State University agricultural economist Glynn Tonsor said most of the lean beef America buys comes from Australia and New Zealand where cattle are fed grass — not grain — their entire lives, and that’s an entirely different system.

US ranchers hope tariffs level playing field but uncertainty remains

The number of cattle being raised across the country has been shrinking for decades to reach the current historic lows of around 28 million, but Texas A&M livestock economist David Anderson said even though that’s less than two-thirds of the number of cattle there were in 1975, more beef — some 26.7 billion pounds — was actually produced last year. That’s because the American beef industry has become so good at feeding cattle and breeding larger animals that now every head of cattle produces more meat. Anderson said that means there’s less incentive to expand the herd.

Casey Maher, owner of the Maher Angus Ranch in Morristown, S.D., said he hopes Trump’s tariffs will level the playing field for American beef producers.

“We’re optimistic and we’re going to stay the course,” said Maher, a third-generation rancher. “We’ve gone through tough times, and if it’s for the greater good, I think ranchers are all in.”

Not all of them, though. Kagay, the Missouri farmer, said uncertainty causes problems of its own.

“I’m not real confident about these tariffs,” he said. “Will they stick around? Will they not stick around? Can I count on them? What exactly is going to happen? You know, nobody knows. So it makes it hard for me to plan my business. I just don’t like it.”

That uncertainty could extend well beyond farming and ranching if it creates new fears about the economy as a whole. If consumers buy less beef because they are worried about their grocery budgets, it won’t matter how much beef is imported.

“You’re less likely to pay up for a ribeye steak if you’re worried about losing your job,” Tonsor said.

Associated Press writer Sarah Raza contributed to this report from Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Trump says he wants to imprison US citizens in El Salvador. That’s likely illegal 15 Apr 2025, 3:40 pm

By NICHOLAS RICCARDI

President Donald Trump on Monday reiterated that he’d like to send U.S. citizens who commit violent crimes to prison in El Salvador, telling that country’s president, Nayib Bukele, that he’d “have to build five more places” to hold the potential new arrivals.

Trump’s administration has already deported immigrants to El Salvador’s notorious mega-prison CECOT, known for its harsh conditions. The president has also said his administration is trying to find “legal” ways to ship U.S. citizens there, too.

Trump on Monday insisted these would just be “violent people,” implying they would be those already convicted of crimes in the United States, though he’s also floated it as a punishment for those who attack Tesla dealerships to protest his administration and its patron, billionaire Elon Musk. But it would likely be a violation of the U.S. Constitution for his administration to send any native-born citizen forcibly into an overseas prison. Indeed, it would likely even violate a provision of a law Trump himself signed during his first term.

Here’s a look at the notion of sending U.S. citizens to prison in a foreign country, why it’s likely not legal and some possible legal loopholes.

If it’s legal to do to immigrants, why not citizens?

Immigrants can be deported from the United States, while citizens cannot. Deportation is covered by immigration law, which does not apply to U.S. citizens. Part of being a citizen means you cannot be forcibly sent to another country.

Immigrants can be removed, and that’s what’s been happening in El Salvador. The country is taking both its own citizens that the United States is sending as well as those from Venezuela and potentially other countries that will not take their own citizens back from the U.S. The Venezuelans sent there last month had no opportunity to respond to evidence against them or appear before a judge.

That’s the deal the Trump administration signed with Bukele. The U.S. has sent people to El Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama and elsewhere even when they are not citizens of those countries. But, under international agreements, people cannot be sent to countries where they are likely to be persecuted or tortured.

Why does the Trump administration want to send people to El Salvador?

Bukele calls himself “the world’s coolest dictator” and has cracked down on human rights during his administration. He’s also turned El Salvador from one of the world’s most violent countries into a fairly safe one. Trump has embraced that example, including during the Oval Office visit Monday.

Sending immigrants from countries like Venezuela to El Salvador sends a message to would-be migrants elsewhere about the risks of trying to make it to — or stay in — the United States.

There’s a second benefit to the administration: People sent to El Salvador are outside the jurisdiction of United States courts. Judges, the administration argues, can’t order someone sent to El Salvador to be released or shipped back to the U.S. because the U.S. government no longer has control of them.

It’s a potential legal loophole that led Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor to issue a grim warning in her opinion in a 9-0 U.S. Supreme Court finding that the administration could not fly alleged Venezuelan gang members to El Salvador with no court hearing, even after Trump invoked an 18th century law last used during World War II to claim wartime powers.

“The implication of the Government’s position is that not only noncitizens but also United States citizens could be taken off the streets, forced onto planes, and confined to foreign prisons with no opportunity for redress,” Sotomayor warned. She was writing to dissent from the majority taking the case from the federal judge who had initially barred the administration from any deportations and had ordered planes en route to El Salvador turned around — an order the administration apparently ignored.

A second case highlights the risks of sending people to El Salvador. The administration admits it sent a Maryland man, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, erroneously to El Salvador. A Salvadoran immigrant, Abrego Garcia, who has not been charged with a crime, had an order against deportation but was shipped to CECOT anyway. On Monday Bukele and Trump scoffed at the idea of sending him back, even though the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the administration to “facilitate” his return.

Wait, so can they send citizens to El Salvador?

Nothing like this has ever been contemplated in U.S. history, but it seems unlikely. There are other legal barriers besides the fact that you cannot deport U.S. citizens. The United States does have extradition treaties with several countries where it will send a citizen accused of a crime in that country to face trial there. That appears to be the only existing way a U.S. citizen can be forcibly removed from the country under current law.

The Constitution also prohibits “cruel and unusual punishment,” and one of CECOT’s selling points is that conditions there are far harsher than in prisons in the U.S. As noted above, federal courts have no jurisdiction there, and that may deprive people sent there of the constitutional guarantee of due process of law.

“It is illegal to expatriate U.S. citizens for a crime,” wrote Lauren-Brooke Eisen of the Brennan Center for Social Justice in New York.

She noted that even if the administration tries to transfer federal prisoners there, arguing they’re already incarcerated, it could run afoul of the First Step Act that Trump himself championed and signed in 2018. The provision requires that the government try to house federal inmates as close to their homes as possible so their families can visit them — and indeed transfer anyone housed farther than 500 miles from their home to a closer facility.

One last loophole?

There is one potential loophole that the administration could use to send a small group of citizens to El Salvador. They can try to strip the citizenship of people who earned it after immigrating to the United States.

People who were made U.S. citizens after birth can lose that status for a handful of offenses, like funding terrorist organizations or lying on naturalization forms. They would then revert to green card holders, and would be potentially eligible for deportation if convicted of other, serious crimes.

That’s a small, but real, pool of people. Perhaps the most significant thing about it is that it would require loss of citizenship first. In other words, there’s still likely no legal way to force a citizen out of the country. But a few could end up in legal jeopardy anyway.

US moves ahead on tariffs with investigations into computer chips and pharmaceuticals 15 Apr 2025, 2:39 pm

By ELAINE KURTENBACH, AP Business Writer

BANGKOK (AP) — The Trump administration has taken its next steps toward imposing more tariffs on key imports, launching investigations into imports of computer chips, chip making equipment and pharmaceuticals.

The Department of Commerce posted notices about the probes late Monday on the Federal Register, seeking public comment within three weeks. It had not formally announced them earlier.

Although President Donald Trump paused most of his biggest tariff hikes last week for 90 days, apart from those for imports from China, he has said he still plans tariffs on pharmaceutical drugs, lumber, copper and computer chips.

The Commerce Department said it is investigating how imports of computer chips, equipment to make them and products that contain them — which include many daily necessities such as cars, refrigerators, smart phones and other items — affect national security. Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 permits the president to order tariffs for the sake of national security.

The probe includes assessing the potential for U.S. domestic production of computer chips to meet U.S. demand and the role of foreign manufacturing and assembly, testing and packaging in meeting those needs.

Among other aspects of the entire computer chip supply chain, the government intends to also study the risks of having computer chip production concentrated in other places and the impact on U.S. competitiveness from foreign government subsidies, “foreign unfair trade practices and state-sponsored overcapacity.”

After Trump said electronics would not be included in what his administration calls “reciprocal” tariffs of up to 50% on some nations, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick explained in an interview on ABC News that pharmaceuticals, semiconductors and autos will be handled with “sector specific” tariffs.

“And those are not available for negotiation,” Lutnick said. “They are just going to be part of making sure we reshore the core national security items that need to be made in this country. We need to make medicine in this country,” he said. “We need to make semiconductors.”

The investigation into pharmaceutical imports includes ingredients used to make such drugs and touches on many of the same aspects of relying on imports to make them.

Asked about his plans for more tariffs on pharmaceuticals, Trump said Monday, “Yeah, we’re going to be doing that.”

He said it would be in the “not too distant future.”

“We’re doing it because we want to make our own drugs,” he said.

More than 70% of the materials, or active pharmaceutical ingredients, used to make medicines made in the United States are produced in other countries, with India, the European Union and China leading suppliers. The U.S. produces about a fifth of all pharmaceuticals made worldwide, but consumes about 45%, far more than any other country.

The U.S. also is a major producer of semiconductors, but only in some areas. It relies heavily on imports from Taiwan and South Korea for certain kinds of advanced chips. In particular, Taiwan dominates advanced logic chip production at 92% of all fabrication capacity according to the International Trade Administration, with South Korea making 8%.

Products like laptops, smartphones and the components needed to make them accounted for nearly $174 billion in U.S. imports from China last year. The administration’s plans suggest that such electronics will still be taxed by previous (non-“reciprocal”) tariffs — and potentially under additional, sector-specific levies.

Although major computer chip makers like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp. are investing heavily in U.S. manufacturing facilities, partly due to incentives put in place during former President Joe Biden’s time in office, the costly process of changing entire supply chains would take years.

Separately, the Commerce Department said Monday that it was withdrawing from a 2019 agreement that had suspended an antidumping investigation into imports of fresh tomatoes from Mexico, effective in 90 days. It said the current arrangement failed to protect U.S. growers from “unfairly priced” imports of tomatoes. Most tomatoes from Mexico will be subject to a 20.91% tariff, it said.